GOVERNOR MURPHY, AMTRAK, AND NJ TRANSIT HIGHLIGHT RECENT SERVICE, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND RELIABILITY IMPROVEMENTS

Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT joined Governor Phil Murphy to share the positive progress on their joint inspection, maintenance, and improvement program for Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor (NEC) infrastructure and NJ TRANSIT’s trains, which has increased the service reliability for customers on the NEC over the last several months. This meeting followed the June 27th convening led by Governor Murphy to determine a joint action plan designed to address several major service disruptions that occurred throughout the summer. After issuing a report in August, which included details of joint efforts and progress to date, Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT released a new progress report. They discussed the recently awarded grants for nearly $300 million in federal funding to modernize critical rail infrastructure in New Jersey.

“This summer, I brought Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT together to address unacceptably long, disruptive rail delays on NJ TRANSIT that were a consistent problem in the spring and early summer,” said Governor Murphy. “With today’s meeting, we proudly announce that Amtrak has inspected all 240 miles of catenary overhead wire systems between Trenton and New York City. And while the fundamental challenge facing our mass transit system continues to be aging infrastructure, we believe that these completed repairs, and the infrastructure investments to come, will make sure New Jerseyans have an easier time getting where they need to go when they need to get there.”

“Our partnership with NJ TRANSIT and joint commitment to Governor Murphy to ensure that  our collective customers have safe and reliable train service is achieving results,” said Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner. “Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT will continue to conduct inspections, make short-term repairs, and seek more funding to fully modernize all aspects of our infrastructure over the long term, including our electric traction system, catenary, signals, switches, and more.”

“While we are pleased with the progress that has improved reliability for tens of thousands of NJ TRANSIT rail customers, our joint efforts will continue,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin S. Corbett. “We must sustain the same level of attention we have demonstrated over the past five months. In addition to the work we are doing to add fiberglass protectors on our pantographs to protect them from impact damage on the NEC catenary, NJ TRANSIT will continue to support Amtrak’s efforts to accelerate the work to upgrade the most vulnerable infrastructure along the NEC.”

The execution of the joint action plan followed several major service disruptions in May and June, together with a variety of minor incidents that reduced service reliability on the NEC between Trenton and New York City. Following June’s public meeting with Governor Murphy, Amtrak, and NJ TRANSIT outlined immediate actions, investigations, inspections, and repairs that both companies undertook together to address these issues. These comprehensive actions taken since June have contributed significantly to a noticeable decline in similar occurrences over the past several months, and service quality has returned to typical levels.